Distress has spread across the campus concerning the status of the CCE department. CCE students, and many traditional students are concerned about signs that CCE may be in danger. Recently, all Saturday classes and some night classes and summer classes have been cut. Rumors claim that the Office of Advancement and Communications will move into Hendricks Hall, displacing CCE students, although no decisions have officially been made.
While the class cuts have been made in response to decreasing enrollment, they make it a lot harder for many CCE students to get a degree.
Both these changes and the ones that are rumored have made many CCE students feel undervalued. We want to stand in solidarity with them and let them know that the Guilford community cares.
Besides, CCE students play an important role in a Guilford education. At the College there is a wide range of ages, from high schoolers to adults, offering all of the community a unique experience. As an institution, we claim to value diversity as a core value. And the different ages and experiences of our students is a major source of this diversity.
Additionally, CCE students contribute greatly to racial and socioeconomic diversity in our community. 43 percent of CCE students are people of color, compared to 28 percent of traditional students. 55 percent of CCE are eligible for Pell Grants, which are based on financial need. Cuts made to the CCE department detract from these kinds of diversity, and thus could be considered racially and economically prejudiced.
We are not just concerned about losing these students. The way the school is making these decisions is not consistent with what we were originally told. While we were told that cuts would be made across the board, this feels more like a concentrated effort to demolish a major part of our community.
We continue to encourage those making decisions about cuts to really put everything on the table, including the salaries of the highest-paid employees. We want to pull together during this crisis, not divide the campus or make some members feel less valuable than others.
The lack of information about changes to CCE that was shared with students is also problematic. We were blindsided by this information, as were the many CCE students who were already heavily affected by cuts and will be more so if more cuts come to pass.
We hope that administrators take this into consideration as they continue to make cuts. We understand that cuts are necessary to ensure the future of our school, but we do not want to lose part of our community along the way.
David Frazier • May 2, 2015 at 3:02 pm
As a former CCE student I empathize with those worried about major cuts that will affect them directly. Eliminating classes on Saturday and in the summer can cause a major disturbance in the educational plans of many CCE students who must feed their families and pay financial responsibilities by working through the week often at all hours. The college makes a huge amount of money as a result of CCE students and to cut them back is simply irresponsible. We must require a full audit to see where the monies/profits are really being funneled. The cost of education at Guilford is off the chart and that is definitely a reason student attendance has dropped. Perhaps a little less greed and a little more thought to the working persons who must foot the huge salaries of administrators should at least be considered. If done so I see enrollment going back up. Just my thought.